


Between Rocks and A Hard Place

by Rueitae



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Relationship, Blood and Injury, Canon Universe, Cave-In, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Love Confessions, Space Pirates, Stranded, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-05 23:45:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: Lance and Pidge are caved in and cut off from the team. Pidge is hurt and there are pirates waiting for them.They have some time on their hands.





	Between Rocks and A Hard Place

**Author's Note:**

> Set after season 7. 
> 
> Inspired by a trope mash up prompt for 'did they or didn't they' and 'huddling for warmth'

“Pidge,” Lance rasped. His throat burned from persistent chatter and he’d lost count how many times he’d said her name, but he had to keep it up. He leaned forward to look down on his teammate’s unconscious and troubled face, tears blurring his vision. It brought sobs to his throat - a poor substitute for the lack of drinking water - seeing her so still, scratched and bloodied.

He gently nudged her shoulder pad. “Pidge, please wake up. This isn’t a good place for a nap,” he said, the weak joke meant more for him than for her. Anything to lighten things up in this dark cave.

Lance heaved a sigh of relief, rocking back on his heels when Pidge finally - _finally_ \- stirred and groaned. She opened her eyes blearily.

“Lance?” she asked, still clearly in the fog of sleep. Her eyes lazily scanned the enclosure, brows furrowed. “What happened?”

“Pirates,” Lance explained calmly. The faster she remembered the better. He didn’t have the memory restoration device from the S.P.R.A.W.L incident, so he hoped to jog her brain the old-fashioned way. “We were checking out a smuggling operation? Our leads brought us to a mine. There was an explosion and now we’re stuck. You blacked out for about ten doboshes.”

Pidge slid her forearms back towards her shoulders and pushed her upper body off the ground. Her eyes grew wide, and she let out a sharp yelp of pain, nearly falling onto her back once again.

Lance reached out to cushion her fall, heart racing for Pidge’s condition and his lack of means to do anything about it. Worse, her outburst garnered the attention of the pirates they’d come to investigate. They waited just outside the wall of fallen rock that kept him and Pidge separated from the outside. Lance blocked out their ambient jeers and focus his concern on Pidge.

He lowered her gently back to the ground. Her initial scream had turned into hurried breaths, eyes knit tightly in agony. He gulped; their situation was not good. Lance could see only two choices left to them at this point. Injured as Pidge was, he wondered briefly if the pirates were equipped and honorable enough to treat her should they surrender quietly.

“Don’t even think about it.” Pidge opened her eyes just long enough glare as she gave the order. Sweat dripped from her brow, exhausted from her labored breaths. She wrapped a hand around his arm and squeezed. Lance hissed, the pain of the pinch surprising him.

He let his shoulders slump, not bothering to ask how she’d read his mind. “They might have medical supplies. You need something, Pidge. We have a better chance of getting back to our Lions if you can run.”

“I can wait for rescue,” Pidge insisted. “We can’t count on pirate goodwill.” She gasped for breath, tightening her grip on his arm as much as she could. “Please, Lance.”

“Okay. Okay,” Lance repeated softly, refusing to outright make a promise he couldn’t keep. He sandwiched her hand with his other, offering comfort. His stomach grew ill as Pidge moaned to cope with her pain.

He activated the medical scanner on his gauntlet, able to finally assess her injuries in this quiet moment. “Nothing broken, but there’s a fracture in your right wrist… and your right knee,” he reported. “You probably have a concussion. Where does it hurt the most?”

“Makes sense,” Pidge responded. She took hold of the offending wrist gingerly, poking and stroking it carefully. “I’m a bit better now, but my shoulder is killing me. Knee and wrist are fine if I don’t move.”

“Doesn’t matter anyway. We’re tucked in good.” He lifted his gaze to the wall of rock, stomach twisting. Cracks between different-sized boulders brought light inside, but there was no hole large enough for them to sneak out.

Even if they could, the pirates on the other side would be waiting for them.

Their current prison was a new and incomplete surface mine. The not yet harvested gems reflected what little sun came through, providing a decent amount of light for the enclosure. It couldn’t have been any bigger than their two Castle bedrooms combined.

“Can you help me sit up?” Pidge asked. “I’ll try and get through to the team. Hopefully the dust storm will be over soon.”

Lance lifted Pidge to rest sitting up against the back wall of the mine. “I’ll go check. Last look I think I saw a bit of the sun.”

“Oi - Paladin! Green still alive in there? You ain’t fallen asleep, have ya?”

Lance winced as he recognized the voice of the pirate leader. He wanted to continue filling Pidge in on the situation and try to devise some sort of escape plan, or at the very least comfort each other more before having to deal with this.

“I’m here, Bront,” Lance grumbled - loud enough for them to hear. “She’s fine. What do you want?”

“Good to hear!” the pirate responded jovially. “Two live Paladins better than one alive and one dead.”

“Oh no,” Pidge whispered blandly, a groan in her voice. “He’s just as peppy as I remember. I was hoping that was a dream.”

Lance patted her good hand and stood. “Take it easy, Pidge; I got this one.” His voice sounded more confident than he felt, but Pidge needed all the rest she could get. He walked over to the wall, stepping up on a few rocks near the bottom of the sloped pile to a hole roughly the size of his head. He braced his arms on either side of it, holding his balance on the loose rubble below him. “What it is?” he asked.

A green face with red markings appeared before him. “Just wanted to let you know we’ve got a digger comin’ in the morning to fish you two out. It’s a long walk to the spaceport, so you’d best get plenty of rest.”

And where their legitimate ride home was, Lance thought with dread building in his heart. Their Unilu contact wasn’t being paid by the hour and would not wait for them. Pidge was not going to be able to handle that fast of a walk. He’d have to carry her, and if he carried her he couldn’t protect her from blaster fire. He wasn’t exactly one hundred percent perfect health himself either.

Between that and the number of pirates just outside, Lance knew the decision was made for them, but he wasn’t about to let Bront know that.

“Why are you telling us this? You planning the evening meal?” he quipped instead.

“Of course we’re eatin’! Far as I can tell it’s roasted coynet. Gives off an especially divine aroma,” he said with the air of an experienced food critic. In an instant his joyful smile twisted into a wicked grin. “If you ever escape I _highly_ recommend you try some.”

Lance’s stomach growled preemptively at the prospect of no food until further notice. He knew his face reflected his fear too. Weakened, they’d be easy pickings to capture. They had nothing but themselves to offer, and unless the team came, the pirates would have them regardless.

“Don’t waste your energy, Lance,” Pidge told him. He turned to acknowledge her, but her focus rested solely on her gauntlet computer.

“You just wait until our buddies get here,” Lance snapped back at the opening. Maybe they could get away with a bluff. “You don’t want to see any of them angry.”

“A chance I am willing to take for a big payout. There are plenty of folks rich enough to buy off two Paladins of Voltron,” Bront said in a far more sinister tone. “Do whatever you need to prepare yourselves. Your freedom is ticking away.” He turned away, a wide grin on his face. “Shevp! Welcome back! Did ya find the herds yet?”

His voice blended into the chatter of the pirate crew at large as he moved further away, leaving the two Paladins in silence aside from the shifting of rubble, still unsettled from the cave-in.

Lance leaned his head against the wall. “Hurry up, guys,” he whispered under his breath.

“They know where we are,” Pidge said. Lance jumped in surprise. “I can hear everything in here,” she teased. “We’ll miss check-in a few varga from now. They might get here before morning.”

“You’re right,” Lance agreed. He stepped down from the ledge and put his hands to his hips. “Look at us, roles reversed.” He gestured between the two of them. “I’m usually the optimistic one. I thought you’d tell us our odds against making it out of here are too low.”

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. Pidge was surely uncomfortable, but her injuries weren’t fatal. She was good company and she was right; the team would come for them.

“I guess we’re rubbing off on each other,” she said as he took a seat next to her. Why did rocks have to be so hard? “‘Something in space is always trying to kill us’?” She snorted, but quickly turned to him with a smile. “You are using your brain more though, preparing for logical eventualities.”

Lance forgot to breathe. The way she smiled softly at him, the light teasing and compliments, he couldn’t find a way to suck in any air.

Like lightning, both instantaneous and illuminating, he saw Pidge in a new light.

And maybe he always had, but now he realized it. Pidge was _pretty_ and one of his very best friends.

He liked her. As in like-liked her.

Pidge was right. They’d been rubbing off and growing on each other for a long time.

“Lance? Are you okay?” Her scrunched face told of confusion and a hint of worry.

“I’m fine,” he said quickly. Was that a squeak? Oh no. Now what? Throw in pick up lines? Pidge always looked so disgusted when he used them on Allura --

Oh.

Perhaps this newfound feeling wasn’t just one way..

Oh quiznak, and they were on the cusp of being captured.

“It looks like your brain broke,” she said flatly, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “I spoke too soon.” She returned her attention to her wrist comm.

“Hey! It is not!” His stomach twisted. Maybe he judged Pidge’s feelings wrong. She probably thought he was still a dumb not-sharpshooter goofball -

He could do something about that.

Lance summoned the red bayard and let it morph into rifle form. “I’ll show you brains. I’ve got a plan. We’ve got time and there’s plenty of openings. I’ll take them out one by one.”

Pidge considered him carefully, more worry in her eyes than anything. “There’s a lot of them out there, Lance. If you don’t they’ll be even more mad at us. If you do, we’ll have to wait on the — "

Lance dropped his bayard as Pidge took a sharp intake of breath, her eyes wide and filled with tears.

“Pidge, what is it? What’s wrong?” He held the back of her head and part of her shoulder. He searched with his eyes but found nothing.

“It - it hurts. My leg.” She leaned into him, shrieking every time she moved.

“You need pain medicine at least,” Lance insisted. His heart raced. What should he do? He had nothing.

“No,” Pidge gasped firmly. “It’s not worth it.”

There was nothing Lance hated more than being useless. He wasn’t a doctor and he had no medical supplies. He couldn’t break them out of this cave and he couldn’t get ahold of the team. Whether they came before the pirates could get in or not he had no way of knowing.

The only thing he could do was offer Pidge comfort...and he could negotiate. But he had to put his full trust in the rest of the team to rescue them.

Decision made, he carefully set her down against the wall. “I’ll be right back, Pidge. Hold on.”

She wanted to respond, the way she looked at him with fury and fear, only for a cycle of coughing, convulsing, and pain to strike her.

Resolve washed over him at the prospect of finally taking action. He took up his bayard and rose to the designated speaking hole.

“Hey, Bront! We need to talk!” he yelled, pounding a fist against the wall.

The pirate leader lifted his head in acknowledgment, then waved casually to dismiss his companions.

“What can I do for you, Red Paladin?” he asked upon approach. Bront grinned in a knowing manner and Lance felt his stomach twist, flinching unintentionally. The man relished having him and Pidge at his mercy.

“My friend needs medical attention,” he said. No sense in wasting time, not when her sobs echoed around the cavern. “She won’t be able to walk tomorrow in her condition. I need something to mend her leg at least.”

Bront laughed. The delight he took in this was sickening. “I think I’ve got enough room on a machine for that tiny one. Unless you have something to make it worth my while?”

“A clean capture,” Lance managed, he hoped, confidently. “If you give me something to help ease her pain, maybe even fix her, then I won’t put up a fight in the morning. None of your crew gets hurt and we all get out of this desert faster.”

Bront made a show of thinking, a long hum on his lips.

Lance sighed. It was just like dealing with the Unilu. “I suppose my word as a Paladin isn’t good enough?”

“I prefer collateral on a physical level. If you’ve got something, I have several vials of panacea we recently acquired from the nearby Galra base. Sounds like Green could use it.”

Lance’s heart leapt in hope. Panaceas were good and legit if it came from a Galra base. He’d seen them work before, essentially a healing pod in a syringe. It could fix her leg or wrist, but not both.

This was worth making the exchange for. If Pidge was in less pain the odds increased that she could help him form a solid escape plan. She’d be able to run if need be. He paused to let the thump of his heart fade from the inside of his ears.

He held his bayard up to the hole, back in its base form. “This is my only weapon. This for panacea.”

“You’re a good man to be so concerned for your teammate,” Bront mused. “Or maybe you’re thinking of other things?”

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked, legitimately confused. “Of course I’m worried about her!”

“Ahhh. I know what desperation sounds like,” he teased. “You have the cry of a lover.”

All warmth drained from Lance’s cheeks. He should be embarrassed to have been called out like this so soon after his heart revealed itself for Pidge, but there was no time, and the lewd expression Bront met him with chilled him to the bone. He had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“Still want to heal her knowing she has a ride tomorrow or”--the devilish grin only grew--“are you planning to engage in a more private activity?”

Lance audibly gasped. He thought… oh Quizn - bad choice of word.

“N-no! Nothing like that!” he finally replied angrily, trying desperately not to seem flustered at the pirate’s implication.

Bront threw his head back and laughed. “I like you,” he roared. “I think I have the perfect client in mind. You will _thank_ me later!”

“Look, are you going to take me up on this or not?” Lance demanded against the second round to laughter.

The pirate shifted and produced a perfectly sealed package with a syringe filled with panacea inside. The color was a perfect shade of blue, not teal like many of the knock-offs he and the team had encountered.

Lance’s brain stalled as he realized the moment of truth was now.

“Take care of the lady tonight - my treat. I won’t even ask for _her_ weapon.”

Lance set his bayard inside the crack, not trusting himself to speak. His cheeks were on fire from embarrassment and he knew that if he said anything it wouldn’t come out threatening or dignified.

Bront set the package in the same area, and Lance took it. He held it tight, as if it would make him safer now that his weapon was with pirates.

“A slick piece of tech you’ve got here,” Bront said, examining the weapon airily as it swung like a pendulum from his finger.

“It’s old so don’t break it,” Lance grumbled. “I’ll be taking it back when our friends get here to rescue us.”

Sobs from Pidge's direction took his attention away from the pirate. Her helmet was off now, lying a few feet away. It was her balled up form shivering in pain that thrust a dagger through his own heart.

"This had better work," Lance threatened, holding up the panacea for emphasis.

Bront flipped the dormant red bayard and caught it expertly with his other hand, rolling it onto a single finger, twirling it around as if it were a toy. "Guess you'll find out soon, Loverboy. Good luck. I'll see you in the morning."

The pirate walked away. Lance refused to watch as the man made light use of his weapon. Attending to Pidge was far more important. He jumped down from the higher rock and jogged back to where he'd left her. Ripping open the bag with his teeth, he knelt at her side.

"Pidge, I've got a dose of that healing pod juice," he said lightly. "I'm going to use it on your leg, okay?"

Pidge hissed, her eyes clenched shut in pain. "You idiot," she managed. "Hurry, I can't - I think i might throw up."

Lance made quick work taking off her boot and shin armor. He needed to inject it directly into her skin. "Just stay still, Pidge. Almost there," he said, making his voice as soothing and comforting as possible. He rolled up the black under suit to her thigh, careful around the knee. He winced when he encountered the deep red gash right on the joint, surrounded by shades of blue.

"Okay, here goes nothing," he said as a warning. He gave the syringe a good shake before injecting it into the side of her knee.

Pidge screamed, sitting up straight in a flash, huffing and gasping as the liquid worked its magic. Lance sat mesmerized as the gash in her knee knitted itself up.

The process was slower than he'd have liked. In a healing pod Pidge would have been asleep and under anesthetic while muscles and bones righted themselves. Right now, she felt and saw it all.

The pain had to be excruciating.

Once the liquid was fully injected, his usefulness playing physician stopped. He scooted over behind Pidge and wrapped both arms around her tightly. "I know it's not much," he said into her ear over her screams and sobs. "Just focus on me, not the pain."

"I'm trying!" Pidge yelled. She grabbed his leg with her good arm and squeezed for all she was worth. "Lance, it’s too much. I can't - " Her coherent sentence went interrupted by more crying, writhing in his arms.

She twisted and turned, kicking both her legs wildly. So far so good; at least she had movement now. "It'll be over soon," Lance promised - he wasn't sure how in the universe he was still so calm - and he hoped he was right. He didn't know how long this would take, but for now he just held her tighter. "I'm not going anywhere. Think about Green; she's probably worried about you, right? Or your projects - whatever you normally think about. Do something crazy - anything. I'm here for you."

Pidge angled her head to face him. She stared, long enough for tears to stream down her face and shiver in pain. But she had stopped screaming. Hopefully the panacea was almost done working and -

His brain stopped when she dragged his face towards her own and locked their lips together.

Her grip on him pinched slightly, but it was hardly a blip on his emotional radar compared to kissing Pidge.

Lance knew he wasn't putting much effort into it. Pidge pressed forward enough for the both of them, but he didn't pull away. The experience was pleasant and warm, and he supported the back of her head and shifted his body to sit at her side to make it easier on her neck.

Surely this answered the question of Pidge having any romantic feelings towards him. Scarcely realizing his own mere minutes ago, he'd not had the time to develop any expectations or fantasies.

He was glad, because Pidge was a great kisser.

Pidge broke off and immediately buried her face in his chest - before he could catch a glimpse of her reaction. She left his mind in a foggy haze from both surprise and how right it felt.

Her breathing steadied, and Lance stole a look to her knee. It looked as if nothing had ever happened to it. Relief overflowed from his chest and he relished in Pidge’s softer and easier breaths. He sighed and nestled his nose into her hair, emboldened by her initiation.

“Feel better?” he mumbled, running a supportive hand up and down her back.

It took Pidge a long moment to reply, and she didn’t bother lifting her head. Lance worried about any adverse effects from the panacea. None of them had actually used it before. They’d assumed it would work just as well on humans, but really who knew?

Pidge groaned; at least it wasn’t a pain-induced one. “Physically? Yes. I might die of embarrassment though. I should have asked you first.”

“The kiss?” Lance let out a sharp laugh. “Well, I did say you could do anything. That’s on me.”

She turned her head up slightly, enough that Lance could almost see one whole eye. “You didn’t mind?”

“I’m still holding you, aren’t I?” he teased. “Besides, this just means I owe you one back, right?”

Pidge didn't respond right away, but her frown and furrowed eyebrows betrayed her sour mood. His heart stilled. Had he said the wrong thing?

He loosened his grip as she gently pushed off from his chest. She stood, shakily at first, and Lance lunged forward to held steady her.

The irony of kneeling before Pidge and holding her hand in this particular moment was not lost on him. His heart beat loud, his ears throbbing.

"Looks like that healing stuff really did the job," he said in an attempt to break the awkwardness.

"Did you mean that?" Pidge asked, voice firm. Her gaze likewise ensnared him and he couldn’t break away. She wasn’t talking about the panacea. "I can say it didn't mean anything, just a distraction from the pain."

She offered an out, but Lance didn't want to take it. Pirate suggestiveness aside, he didn't know what would become of them tomorrow, if their relationship - friendship or otherwise - might somehow be used against them or if they’d be separated. He didn't want to lose this chance, not when he'd already missed the opportunity to help Shiro's clone. He refused to put anyone else in danger because he didn't take action.

So he stood and clasped her hand. That alone pleased him more than it should have when Pidge's face turned a bright red and her lips parted in surprise. The corners of his mouth curled up on instinct into his favorite teasing and flirtatious smile, but his heart felt more sincere than ever.

"Trying to get out of paying me back? You'll have to do better than that, Pidge."

She clenched her fingers around his in anger, but did not take her hand away. "If you're going to start flirting with me just like with every other girl in the universe, you can forget it. I kissed you out of necessity and delirium. I don't want you to read anything into -- "

He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles, interrupting her. "So, in delirium and in pain, the first thing you thought to do was kiss me?" he said in humor as he found her eyes once more. "Now we're even."

Angry eyes melted into soft and defeated orbs. "This is a bad time for this," she said.

"I don't know when we'll next have time, Pidge. So, let me try, okay?" At a small nod and with butterflies flying into the wall of his stomach, he said, "Even though this situation really sucks, I'm glad I'm stuck here with you. You're the smartest, bravest, most creative person I know. You're amazing, and I felt like telling you every day." Pidge froze, emitting a soft gasp, but he continued, "You're beautiful, Pidge, inside and out. I would play the Gameflux all day every day with you if I could."

He didn't expect his words to open the floodgates in her eyes.

"When we met at the Garrison, you wanted to be my friend," Pidge managed to choke out. "You kept _trying_ to be my friend, even though I pushed you away so many times. I just... I just wanted to - I wanted to hear that from you so much. I didn't think I'd ever -- " Her lip wobbled. "I hate caves and I hate pirates!"

She fell limply against his chest, unable to speak any further until her tears dried up. Lance held her close, not about to let her fall. He didn't need to hear any more. Pidge had been waiting long enough, and he felt awful about it.

"I'm sorry," he said after a while.

"You gave them your bayard," she stated, wiping her tears away and changing the subject. She had the right idea. It was time to figure out a plan.

"Yeah, I did." No sense in lying about it.

Pidge sniffled. "We're outmanned, outgunned, and at a strategic disadvantage."

"Ten to one, at least," Lance supplied. "But the team is on their way, the pirates are going to dig us out, and you can walk."

Pidge inhaled deeply and took a step back, letting her shoulder roll down and relax with the exhale. She did not let go of his hand. When she opened her eyes, tears were nearly gone, and in their place a steely determination.

"We can assume they have a functioning communication device able to get past the storm since they called in for machinery," she said methodically. "If I can get to it, I can contact the Coalition channels to see if anyone is closer than the Atlas.”

“I’ll keep them talking as long as I can,” he offered. “You’ll be okay with one hand?”

“I’ll have to be.” She held the injured wrist. “I should keep this elevated.”

Lance looked around the cave for inspiration. “Well, there’s plenty of rocks,” he joked.

Pidge’s face fell. “I guess that will work…”

He sighed dramatically. “Pidge, I am not going to let you rest on a rock if I can help it. Here.”

He settled himself down on the floor, shifting around for the most comfortable position. Once his head found a nook in the rubble that wasn’t too sharp he set his arm around a rock that was about head high, and gestured for Pidge to join him.

“You can use me as a pillow. Come on.”

At her uncertain face, he added, “It’ll keep us warm too. We should be well-rested for tomorrow.”

Pidge sighed in surrender. It took her only a few steps to reach him and curl up beside him. He didn’t have to coax her to rest her head on his chest and lay her arm across his abdomen.

“Comfy?” he asked once she stopped adjusting. He wrapped his arm around her back when she shivered and snuggled in closer.

“As much as I will be. Thanks, Lance.”

He rested his own head on hers. “Anything for you, Pidge.”

They descended into an easy silence. Lance watched the opening in the wall as Pidge’s sleeping breaths nearly lulled _him_ to sleep.

He had no reason to think Bront lied to him about the digging machine coming in the morning, other than the man being a pirate. He’d been truthful so far as Lance could tell, and to even have panacea on his person meant he took care of his crew. They could have ended up with worse captors.

One of them needed to be awake, in case he made a move early. Since Pidge needed all the sleep she could for her recovery, that left him.

As the sun set outside, it grew more difficult to distinguish the hole in the wall with the rest of the cave. The pirates kept Lance awake, a group of them keeping vocal well into the night.

“You didn’t have to get me the panacea,” Pidge said out of nowhere, startling him. Her voice was laced with the grogginess of waking.

“Yes I did,” he insisted. “It was killing me to see you in so much pain. Besides, it... would have been a short fight even _with_ my bayard. I was using my brain, promise,” he teased.

Pidge shuffled to reach the computer on her gauntlet, still content to use him as a pillow.

Static echoed when she turned on communications. “The dust storm must still be going on. I still can’t get a hold of anybody.”

“Didn’t Coran say they could last for days?” Lance gulped. The pirates could have them well off planet by then.

“Weeks,” Pidge corrected solemnly. “Did Bront tell you where he was taking us? I can at least leave a scrambled message for Matt.”

 _I know just the client_.

Lance shivered. With how fixated Bront was over their, at the time, non-existent romantic relationship, he really didn’t want to find out. He hoped that Hunk’s famous gut feeling would be enough to bring the team on time.

“He didn’t say, and hopefully we’ll never find out,” Lance said, unintentionally holding Pidge even closer. “We missed check-in a while ago. The team has to be on their way.”

Pidge leaned back on his arm, sending him a determined glare. “We have to be ready if they don’t.”

“I know,” Lance conceded. There wasn’t much they could do except stall for time. He could talk and Pidge would do her share of distracting, but they had to wait until they were free and that wouldn’t take long once the digger arrived.

Or would it?

“Hey Pidge, how powerful do you think that digging machine will be?”

She raised her eyebrows at him, puzzled by his train of thought. “I saw a lot of machinery that looked like twenty-first century Earth tech. We might have ten dobashes or so before they can make a hole big enough to get us out.”

“How long would it be if we reinforced the wall with Altean tech?”

Pidge opened her mouth to remind him they didn’t have any other equipment, but stopped herself, her face lighting up.

“I still have _my_ bayard! I could try and weld the rocks together,” she said with a bright smile. “Lance, that’s genius.”

His chest glowed and his heart fluttered at the compliment. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted to hear her praise him like that, confirmation that he wasn’t dumb and not just a goofball.

“Are… you crying?” she asked, breaking Lance out of his reflective world.

He was tearing up, he realized.

Pidge searched his face for answers and he hated that she frowned instead of smiled. “It’s like I’ve _actually_ never said a nice thing to you.”

“That’s not true!” Lance was quick to retort, frazzled that this was suddenly about him. “You uh…”

Her eyes grew wide with horrified realization. “Seriously? I swear every time I think about our conversations I remember saying something nice.”

“No… just… goofball, not being the team sharpshooter…generally in the way.” Each and every time he’d been unsure of himself and his place on the team.

It had hurt to see her in physical pain before, but he may as well have stabbed himself. Because now her emotional pain was explicitly his fault.

Pidge sucked in a sharp breath. “Lance, I’m — “

“No, it’s okay. I deserved it,” he said. He averted his gaze, electing to continue his lookout duties. All traces of daylight were gone now, and even the pirate chatter had diminished. A low hum of insects was all that remained. “It took me too long to man up out here, too long to take things seriously.”

The weight of Pidge’s head returned to his chest.

“Being a goofball is one of my favorite things about you,” she said quietly. “You lift us all up. If I hadn’t been focused on finding my family I would have enjoyed hanging out with you after class. Even if I was annoyed, I was really grateful for the distraction.

“And if that’s not enough, I love playing video games with you too. You’re a good right hand to Keith and for the rest of us, and you _are_ our sharpshooter. You’re amazing, Lance. Even if we - I - don’t say it often or at all, that’s the truth.” She lifted her head and smiled at him, a soft beautiful smile she usually reserved only for her family now was his too. “It’s true you’ve grown for the better, but we all have. None of us started this crazy adventure perfect. Don’t ever lose what makes you, you.”

“Pidge.” The faucets opened. Sobbing into her hair wasn’t his most ideal way to begin a relationship (or being stuck in a cave surrounded by pirates if he was honest), but the way she held him as tightly as she could despite her fractured wrist made him feel welcome to stay that way as long he wanted.

All seemed fine and perfect. Apart from the circumstances, Pidge’s arms were exactly where he wanted to be.

The ambient humming noise that Lance once thought belonged to local wildlife grew more prominent and distinctly more machine-like. Pebbles shook and crumbled from the wall faster than before.

“Oh quiznak, they’re coming.” Lance’s heart sunk. This was too early. They weren’t going to be able to even start their plan.

Just as distressed, Pidge flopped over and began to roll the back undersuit back down to cover her leg, slow going one-handed. “Help me get my boot back on.”

Lance sat up and grabbed the boot and shin guard, the urgency of the task keeping his mind from dwelling on what might be waiting for them after the pirates.

The temperature in the cave rose, and though the task of armoring Pidge was a simple one, water dripped from his brow into his eyes. Wiping his face did nothing but agitate it, covering his gloves in moisture.

Pidge suffered as well. “Sorry, I sweat pretty bad normally,” she said as he slipped her boot the wrong way for a second time. The last piece.

Rock fell to the ground with a great clash, diverting Lances attention.

A hole large enough for several people to fit through was now the entrance to the cave. Fresh air filtered in, the night breeze cooling and drying his sweat. The drilling machine responsible sat just outside, the drill bit powering down and still glowing a shade of orange from its heat.

Pidge took his hand, trembling. “Okay, a little more advanced than twenty-first century Earth.”

A loud click sounded and bright lights flooded the cave. Lance yelped and diverted his eyes, his senses overloaded. Pidge groaned and buried her face in his side.

“Good morning Paladins! I hope you slept well!”

Lance squinted to see Bront filtering in with five additional crew. His fingers itched for his bayard, but it dangled far away from him on the pirate’s belt. The sight of it served as a physical reminder of his promise not to resist, and it took all of his willpower to remain still while holding Pidge’s boot.

It wouldn’t stop him from snarking.

“Was hard to with how loud you all were out there,” Lance said, making sure to glare holes in the man.

The head pirate laughed. He gestured from his crew to the Paladins, a wordless order to restrain them.

“Looks like I’m right on time! Would have hated to walk in on you two in the act; I can respect a couple’s privacy.”

Lance knew he shouldn’t, but he looked to Pidge. He couldn’t not after her exclamation of ‘ _what’_ to Bront’s comment. Her face was caught between horror and rage.

Two pirates lifted Lance to his feet, one on each arm. “We don’t want to hear it from you,” he hissed, hoping the man would get the hint.

He didn’t. A devilish joy flashed in his eyes, a grin to match. “Despite the digger coming early, you were able to unleash all your passions and get dressed again minus a single boot.” Bront shifted his weight and clapped slowly and deliberately. “I am _impressed_.” He laughed in almost unbridled delight. “My client is going to love you.”

Lance felt sick, so he refocused his energy on the pirates lifting Pidge to her feet. One of them finished the job of putting her boot back on. Seeing her able to stand on her own made him feel slightly better. The trade had been worth it

“Careful,” he told them as authoritatively as he could. “Her wrist is still healing.”

“Where are you taking us?” Pidge demanded.

“Don’t you worry, Ceronis takes good care of his wards. Talked with him last night; he doesn’t have any Earthlings yet. You’ll get a pretty cushy room - plenty romantic too, I’ve heard.” He winked at them.

Lance forgot to breath out, sucking in more air than he needed and coughing. They were going to some kind of crazy collector and encouraged to be intimate. His chest tightened at the implications, on the verge of panic.

Where was the team?

Pidge kicked and growled. “That’s sick! Let us go!”

Bront made a show of considering. “Why not?” He shrugged. “It’s only fair to bring you in together. Secure them to the transport. We head for the spaceport as soon as camp is packed.”

He turned on his heel and headed outside.

A pair of handcuffs linked Pidge’s good hand with one of Lance’s with a resounding click.

“You can keep it as our gift to you,” one of the crew teased. Lance fell forward from a rough push, his boots scraping across the ground and barely keeping his footing. The others joined in the laughter.

Pidge tumbled into him. Already unbalanced, they hit the ground clumsily.

Pidge gasped sharply in pain. Her wrist must have been hit.

“No need to be pushy,” he twisted to growl at their guards.

The head of the group gestured with his blaster. “Don’t waste time, get up.”

He didn’t want to risk further incapacitating Pidge, so he helped her to stand with him while she nursed the offending wrist, eyes shut as if to will the pain away. If they had any hope of escape, it wasn’t now and they both needed to be as fit as possible.

Guns to their backs, they marched out of the cave. The sudden activity clawed at Lance’s stomach, reminding him neither had eaten since they left the castle.

The cool fresh air and the cloudless, starry sky refreshed his sore muscles, and he let his feet dig into the soft sand. It would be peaceful if not for the dozens of desert vehicles, all clearly armed to the teeth with turrets on top and blasters out the sides. With a few cosmetic changes, they would have fit in with any group Earth tanks.

Bront led them to one.

“Since you’ve both been so cooperative, I arranged some special transportation to the spaceport.” He put his back to them and pounded on the fortified side.

With a stinging yank, Lance lost control of his arm. He opened his mouth to deliver a quip, needing something to lift his spirits.

Pidge paid him no mind. She’d pulled up her wrist computer. Trying to send the team a message, he realized. The storm had subsided, so they could get ahold of anyone now. He shut his mouth. She typed fast even with the shared weight of his arm, wincing with every tap.

Pidge was working, which meant he needed to as well.

Bront’s pounding opened a door in the side of the tank. His heart sank, knowing where this was going. If they went in there, communications definitely wouldn’t work.

“Oh come on,” he complained, making a point to shield Pidge’s actions with his body. “It’s nice out and it was super stuffy in the mine. We can walk for a bit.”

A sharp gasp. “Watch it!” Pidge snapped, her eyes lined in water. Their guards had caught her in the act. One of them pulled a knife out of her cuff, which crackled with electricity, rendered useless.

“Dude, I told you her wrist is bad,” Lance added in anger. “Don’t make it worse.”

“Don’t be sending any cries for help,” Bront retorted, smiling. It was not a nice smile, and it chilled him worse than the night air. He bowed mockingly. “Ladies first, I insist.”

Blasters hummed to life behind them, leaving only one choice.

He hadn’t felt this hopeless since that first showdown with Zarkon.

A soft pressure wrapped around his hand. Pidge’s grip tightened in sync with her angry face, tinged with sadness.

“You should have listened to Lance,” she spat. “Our friends are going to tear you apart looking for us.”

“I’d almost welcome the challenge if I weren’t here for business,” Bront aired. His face twisted into a nasty scowl. “Get in. Another word or pause and I’ll have Keln take out your whole arm, Green.”

Lance refused to risk the bluff. He squeezed Pidge’s hand and stepped forward, making the choice for her. She reciprocated the comforting gesture and offered no resistance when helped up through the hatch.

Lance awkwardly followed head first, yelping as gravity pulled him to the floor inside. He landed on his back, one arm splayed out and the other stretched uncomfortably, still connected to Pidge. He twisted to his side as Bront pushed his legs completely inside.

The floor was less cold and less hard than he had expected.

“It takes these machines about three varga to cross the desert. You two do whatever you want in that time; no one will bother you,” Bront said in delight. “See ya then.”

The door shut, several locks clicking with finality, and total darkness engulfed them.

Fairy lights illuminated the area moments later. The strings decorated the cushioned walls and ceiling, the floor similarly pillow-like. Actual pillows sat at one end.

It was very… romantic, for a holding cell.

It only served to unnerve Lance further. The list of things he would give to be in this position with a girl he liked was long, minus being kidnapped of course.

And he was here with Pidge.

“He - he’s not kidding, is he?” Pidge asked, cheeks a dark red. “He thinks we’ve already - oh quiznak,” she moaned.

“I don’t think he’s kidding about his client either,” he said. He took deep breaths, trying to slow his adrenaline filled heart. “Did you get a hold of anyone?”

Pidge shook her head and sat, resting her injured wrist on her knees. “I just managed to get out some incoherent code. They’d know it’s me and that’s about it. _If_ they crack it.”

“There’s still time,” Lance said quickly. He sat up, crossing his legs for comfort. “Red’s saved Keith from death tons of times, so the Lions could find us too.”

“We’re not about to die, Lance,” Pidge snapped. “We’re getting shipped off to be an attraction at a private zoo run by a pervert. We’ve never heard of this guy. The odds of the team finding us after we get off-planet are — “

“The odds are bad, I get it. Everything about this is bad.” He took her hand. “We’ll find a way out of this. I promise.”

Pidge steeled her gaze. “As soon as we can con tech out of the pervert I am making a communicator.”

Lance grinned, heart much lighter with Pidge planning their escape. “That’s why I love you, Pidge.”

A familiar purr surrounded his mind like a roaring campfire. Words did not come, but all thoughts of escape were cut off and the void replaced with an image of this planet in his mind's eye.

It was gone as quickly as it came. Across from him Pidge blinked, looking as if coming out of a deep sleep.

“Did you see that?” he asked breathlessly.

Pidge nodded, a victorious grin growing on her face. “I heard Green! The Lions know where we are and they’re coming!”

A quintet of deep roars permeated the walls of their thick metal prison. Pirates screamed and laser fire tore into the nearby landscape.

Lance gulped. “I sure hope they know we’re in one of these.”

Metal on metal screeched, drowning the scream that Lance made the vocal motion for, but couldn’t hear. Pidge dragged him back as the fairy lights were ripped into the open, along with the other half of the cell, by yellow claws.

“Lance! Pidge!” It had never felt better to hear Hunk’s voice. “Guys, I found them! Are you two okay?!”

“Hunk!” Pidge yelled, delighted. He let Pidge drag him to the new, much larger, door and waved.

“I’m sure glad to see you, buddy!” Lance yelled back in relief. “Pidge has a hurt wrist! We’re fine otherwise!”

The Yellow Lion stood imposingly over the battle, where the Blue and Black Lions circled above providing air support. Green and Red landed nearby, anxiety rattling through the bond to get their Paladins back in the pilot seat.

Lance beamed. He always relished the role of Paladin, but in this moment he let pride take over fully, both for himself and for the team he was a part of.

“Oh man that’s such a relief,” Hunk breathes. “So, Yellow kept showing me images of this guy and I’m guessing he’s the cause of this. I have him pinned under a claw.”

“Keep him right there!” Lance hollered back, scowling. “I owe him a piece of my mind.”

“I’m coming with,” Pidge said. “I want to punch him. Also,” she chuckled, “we’re still handcuffed together.”

Lance wasn’t sure why, but it was hilarious. He broke down in a giggling fit, unbound hand clutching his side. Pidge joined him on the floor, sputtering into uproarious laughter of her own.

Why not? Lance thought. This entire situation was like a weird nightmare nearly come true. Of all the times to reveal a mutual crush - it wasn’t not funny.

It was a better coping mechanism than taking it seriously.

“I need to get my bayard back,” he managed to say, though his chest hurt from laughing too much. “I told him our friends were going to be angry.”

Pidge wiped the tears from her eyes, dragging his hand with her. He took the opportunity to help, hoping his gloves were dry enough. Her smile shifted, going from pure mirth to something like affection. It was a look she’d given him so many times before but one he’d never given proper context to.

“What’s with that look?” he teased as he settled down.

“That’s what I love about you,” she responded in kind to his admission earlier, leaning her head towards him, her smile getting softer by the moment. “I always have fun when we’re together.”

Her face drew closer, and Lance didn’t realize it was partly his own doing until their faces were too close to not kiss.

So they did. His lips traveled until they met hers. She pushed up, and he pushed down in equal measure. Lance savored the taste of the alien fruit that still lingered from their previous meal. His lips wormed around hers, exploring every crevice. Pidge paused over his lower lip. The way she nibbled and licked on it excited him more than he could afford in the middle of a battle zone.

“Guys?” Hunk’s voice cracked.

Pidge pulled back with a snort. “I think we broke Hunk.”

“We gave the pirates what they wanted.” Lance shrugged with a smile.

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Think Bront is watching? Want to break him too?”

With her eyebrows raised suggestively enough, Lance found he couldn’t say no.

So in the middle of the battlefield, filled with scraps of what were once armored vehicles and weapons, in front of their friends and the pirate leader who was so pleased to egg them on:

They kissed.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe this is my first canon verse plance confession. Just in time for s8 yeah?
> 
> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/). (at least for now)


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